


When I Knew

by pauliestevens



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Married Life, child that I created, pregnant Rose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-21 05:10:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1538888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pauliestevens/pseuds/pauliestevens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose didn't know how she'd feel about beginning a new life with the Doctor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When I Knew

**Author's Note:**

> This is I think the first one I ever wrote and I wanted to post because I'm still working on my other ones. This was from a prompt from a friend, so this is dedicated to her :)
> 
> Beta-readers always welcome!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading ^-^

I have lived an amazing life.  I have traveled the stars and seen planets you couldn’t believe.  I’ve met aliens and fought for my life.  All alongside the man I love.  And can you believe that I actually got to marry him?

My name is Rose Tyler, and this is the story of my married life with the Doctor.

***

I jerked awake.  My heart was pounding, and my heart was in my throat.  What had woken me up?  It was too dark to be morning.  I scrubbed at my eyes with the heels of my hands and looked at the digital alarm clock perched on the end of my side table.  I groaned inwardly.  What in the world had woken me up at _1:30 in the morning_? I glanced groggily around the room while reaching for the Doctor, who should’ve been on my other side.

My hand hit empty sheets.

What a way to get me awake.  I automatically started panicking.  Ever since we had started living together and I had gotten pregnant, I was always nervous about him getting hurt or dying or leaving or getting kidnapped or...my mind ran wild.  I jumped out of bed and jammed my feet into my slippers, stubbing my feet as I went.

I limped towards the stairs while checking each room on the way.  He wasn’t in any of those so my next instinct was to dart towards the steps.  I heard a noise from the kitchen and slid to a stop in the doorway.

The Doctor was sitting on the floor surrounded by metal pots and pans.  That’s what had woken me, was the crash of them hitting the floor.  I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to slow my heart.

“What the _hell_ are you doing?” I demanded. “You nearly gave me a heart attack."

At least he had the decency to look sheepish about it.  “Rosie, I’m so sorry.  I got hungry and wanted to make food.  The pots just all fell at once.”  

Him calling me Rosie was a thing he had started doing almost as soon as we met.  It was something the alien Doctor would never do, and just separated them further. There were other things too, like the way that my Doctor didn’t remember everything from space, or that he talked and acted a little differently than the alien Doctor. Even though at first I really wished for the true, two-hearted Doctor I had fallen in love with,  this Doctor was now better than anything I could have possibly asked for.  He was not only the man I was in love with and married to, but he was my best friend.

I walked over and managed to sit down next to him.  My pregnancy had started showing about two months ago, and it was getting harder and harder to do things.

It looked like that was the way the Doctor’s mind was going too.  “Rosie, why don’t you sit at the table?  I don’t want you hurting yourself.”  He searched my face, and his concern shown through in his beautiful brown eyes.  I couldn’t resist leaning over and kissing him lightly.  He deepened this kiss and wound his fingers through my hair, pulling me closer.  This continued for quite some time before I finally broke the kiss and pulled away.

“You really did scare me though,”  I tried to say sternly, but judging from the way he grinned at me, he saw right through it.   

He straightened out his features and responded seriously.  “I really am so sorry though.  For everything.  Waking you up and worrying you and...all that.”  

I gave him a small smile and pulled him in for a hug.

“I love you so much.” he mumbled into my neck.

“I know. I love you too.”  I grinned and snuggled close to him.  Just then I had an idea.

“Hold on, I have to get something.” He voiced his protest, but I silenced him with a wave of my hand. I struggled to stand and went to the freezer.  I grabbed two pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, one for both of us. Tossing the containers behind me, I then fished two spoons out of the dishwasher.  My lap of the kitchen left me in my original spot, snuggled up next to the Doctor.

We ended up staying on the floor until the sun came up.  After talking for hours and finishing off the Ben & Jerry’s, both of us curled into each other on the floor and slept there until one.

***

That is still one of my favorite memories I have with him.  We’ve had so many adventures, but just the normal ones we have together are the most memorable.

***

Fast forward two years~

Katy’s crying is the most distinct thing I’ve ever heard.  I can pick it out of a crowd if I need to.  And I usually do.  Now that Katy has started walking, she’s taken it upon herself to wander away whenever we enter a crowd.  This has led to many frantic situations with me pushing people aside shouting for her.  Katy thinks this is the funniest thing ever, and just laughs whenever I find her.  I scold her, but the kid is just too cute.  I can’t stay mad.  

Katy will be the death of me.

The most recent occurrence was when all of us went to the nearby zoo.  Katy is absolutely in love with animals of all kinds, and both me and her father are in love with her.  Because of this, we have taken many impromptu trips to the zoo.  I don’t know how she doesn’t lose interest, but I’ll continue to take her as long as she wants.  The way both hers and the Doctor’s faces light up when they see the animals is worth so much more than the money it costs to get in.  I’d pay for zoo trips forever if I could continue to see those faces.

We got to the zoo earlier than we usually do, because today just happened to be Katy’s birthday.  It was a complete surprise what her birthday wish was.

We were the first ones to enter the gates.  The grumpy teenage gate attendant glared at us as we walked through.  We were the reason she had to be here this early.  But I was not going to let her ruin our time, so I continued through the gate, giving her a triumphant smile as I went.

The place quickly filled up, and after trekking around for a few hours, we stopped for lunch.  The Doctor grabbed my hand while we were in line, and I smiled up at him.  The bright sun glinted off of his recently dyed ginger hair.  He had some weird obsession with it, so I wasn’t going to argue.

It took until we had completely ordered all our food that I realized Katy was gone.  I glanced at the Doctor.

“Where’s Katy?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level.

The stricken look on the Doctor’s face just confirmed my fears.

We had just lost our three year old daughter.

I maintained my breathing while searching the surrounding areas.  She was nowhere to be seen, and I felt a panic attack coming.  The Doctor saw it and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.  I was led to a nearby picnic table and he sat me down while murmuring comforting things in my ear.

“It’s okay, I’ll find Katy, you just sit here and watch the stuff, she’ll come back I’m sure of it.”  I tuned him out and put my head between my knees.  I saw his tennis shoes retreat, and closed my eyes.  

I’m not sure how long it was before he came back.  I felt his hand on my back.  

“What?”  I muttered, keeping my head between my knees.  Just then a small weight draped itself over my back.  I jerked up and stared into the intense brown eyes belonging to Katy.  My arms wrapped around her tiny frame and I squeezed her as hard as I dared.

“Ow, Mommy, stop!”  She wriggled out of my grasp and back into the Doctor’s arms.  I smiled gratefully up at him, and he just winked in response.

***

I may have amazing memories with him now, but none of these compare to the moment that I found out how much I loved him.

***

It was only a day after we had come together, and we were still jumpy around each other.  The Doctor was overly polite, and I was just suspicious.  How could I be sure that he was actually the Doctor that I knew in my heart loved me?  What if he was just here because he felt obligated to be?  I had to find out for sure.  Not knowing was driving me crazy.

My opportunity came the next morning.  It was just me and him in the kitchen at the time.

The Doctor was already at the table when I walked in.  The moment he saw me, I could feel the tension in the room fill all the empty space.  The awkward silence mocked me as I avoided eye contact.  He rustled the newspaper, cleared his throat, and took a sip of coffee.  Finally I just couldn’t take it anymore.

“You could go out you know,”  I blurted.  He looked at me incredulously.  I don’t think he thought I was going to talk to him ever.

“What?”  

“You...you know...just go to a pub or something.  Talk to people.  Meet other girls.”  I blushed furiously.   _Idiot_. What was I doing?  From the look on his face, it looked like I was just humiliating myself. “I mean...only if you want.  It was just a suggestion.”  I rushed out of the room, berating myself inside my head.  If I had turned around I would’ve seen the adorable grin he was giving me from across the table.

Later that night I went downstairs to find a note left on the kitchen table.

 

_Rosie-_

_I took your advice and went out to a pub for the night.  I hope you don’t mind.  Don’t wait up, I might be a bit late.  Thanks for the suggestion!!_

_-The Doctor_

_What_?  I blinked at the note in confusion.  He listened to me?  And what was he trying to imply by saying ‘don’t wait up?’  Was he planning on meeting someone that fast?   _Rosie_? No one had ever called me Rosie, not even my mum.  It sounded like something a four-year-old would be called.  I grew irritated at the carefree tone of the note.  It left me in a bad mood for the rest of the night, so I decided to turn in early.

***

The next morning I woke up late, almost noon.  The sun shone brightly through my window, and I was squinting against the glare.  I padded downstairs to find the Doctor leaning against the island with a cup of coffee.  I did my best to look cross with him as I walked in.  I breezed by him on the way to the fridge.

“Did you see my note?”  I turned and he was grinning at me.

“Yup.  I saw it.”  I commented stiffly.  I faced towards the coffee maker so I wouldn’t have to meet his gaze.

“Uh, great.  That’s good. Um, how was your night?”

“I’m more interested in how yours was, actually,”  I threw over my shoulder.  I cringed at myself.  Where did that come from?  And what was with the jealousy in my voice?   _That is not your Doctor.  You don’t get  to feel that way about him._  

“It was good, thanks.  Didn’t talk to many people though.”

I whirled around.  “What?  Why not?  That’s the whole point of going out.”

“I already have someone I’d like to get to know better,”  the tone of his voice made me look up, and I met his serious stare.

“Oh?  W-who would that be?”  I stuttered, his response taking me by surprise.  I casually took a sip of coffee.

“You.”  He became very interested in the front page of his newspaper.  I choked on my coffee and barely managed to swallow.

“ _Me?_ ”  

“Yeah.  You’re loads more interesting than other girls.  And I feel like I already know you.”  He finished by giving me a long look before looking down.  “I was, um, kind of, uh, hopingyoumightfeelthesameway.”  He finished quickly and blushed.

Well if I hadn’t believed him before, the shyness of this whole episode convinced me that he actually did have feelings towards me. I felt like the luckiest girl in the entire universe in that moment.  And I didn’t even know about the adventures in the future.  I grinned at him.  

“Well I guess it’s your lucky day then.”  He looked up hopefully.  When he saw I wasn’t just messing with him, he jumped up and ran around the table to stand in front of me.

“Rosie, I’ve had the urge to kiss you for the past week and I was just wonderi-”  I cut him off by grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him to me.

And then began the happiest relationship I’ve ever had.  The Doctor had picked me over anyone else.  He had already decided on me.  Even though now that he was human he had other options than just me, and he could have taken off if he wanted.  Of course we had all those memories together, but guys had left me with so many more shared memories than this.  And the fact that he did stay for me was the best feeling I’ve ever had the chance to experience.

***

So that’s how my story ends.  We are still happily married, growing old together.  Katy is off to college, and in somebody else’s hands for the time being (God help them).  There are so many wonderful times that I’ve shared with the Doctor over the years, but that last memory wins by a long shot.  The Doctor made me feel loved, accepted, and that was all I was asking for.  That was when I knew I had found home.


End file.
